


Game Day

by WombatPumpkin



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Tension, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Kiss cam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29333727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WombatPumpkin/pseuds/WombatPumpkin
Summary: CEO of 'Inquisition, Incorporated', Ms. Lydia Trevelyan, has arranged a team building outing to a baseball game with the help of her COO, Cullen Rutherford. But what happens when the CEO and the COO end up on a kiss-cam in front of their colleagues?
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan, Cullen Rutherford/Trevelyan, Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford
Kudos: 10





	Game Day

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day :) Have some squishy fluff!

“Go sports team?” Ms. Lydia Trevelyan said with a half-hearted shrug to her colleague Sera. 

“I know, right?” Sera replied with a grimace. “Whose idea was it to make a team building activity out of sports? It’s not like _we’re_ playing.”

“That would be Cullen. COO’s turn to pick,” Lydia said pointedly, scratching her chin.

“Course it would be his idea,” Sera said, wrinkling her nose. “He loves the ruddy Fennec Foxes. I mean, what kind of a bloody name is the _Fennec Foxes_?”

“Doesn’t inspire much fear, does it?”

Sera snorted. 

Lydia and Sera had taken their seats in the stands. It was early in the season on a work day, and they were there supporting a team that wasn’t, to Lydia’s understanding, especially good, so the stadium was not quite half full. Cullen had managed to convince their CFO, Josephine, to splurge on some good seats at least, right behind third base. As CEO, Ms. Trevelyan _could_ have nixed it, but she decided she’d rather endure a few hours than cheat Cullen out of his choice of team building activity. 

Lydia sighed, looking around to see where the rest of the group could be. The outing was for all the department heads, a chance to “bond”. She noted Bull, head of legal, and Varric, head of communications, buying crab fries. Bull sported a large soda-drink hat, evidently a fan of baseball...or soda. 

“Think I’ll get a pretzel or something,” Sera said, getting to her feet and stretching her arms in a wide windmill. “Want anything while I’m up?”

“Soft serve?” 

“In a plastic hat?”

“Yes, please.” Lydia grinned while Sera scooted passed her and headed off for the food lines. She sighed heavily, sliding low into her chair while she checked emails on her phone. Only offline for an hour and already her inbox was drowning. Though the CEO had mostly given herself permission to not work this afternoon, the third email from the top caught her attention, and she clicked it. 

**From:** Rutherford, C. <CRutherford@inq.org>

 **To:** Trevelyan, L. <LTrevelyan@inq.org>

 **Cc:** Montilyet, J. <JMontilyet@inq.org>, Senechal, L. <LSenechal@inq.org>

 **Subject:** _Running Late_ \- _Traffic on the Interstate_

_Though with Leliana driving the way she is, and provided we don’t get pulled over, we should be there before the first pitch._

_See you Soon,_

_Cullen_

  
  


Lydia felt her heart sink a little. Of course he’d be running late. Privately, she had hoped she might snag a seat next to the COO, but now she wasn’t so sure that would happen.

Thumbing over to “ _Reply_ ”, she quickly texted back:

_Thanks for the heads up. Drive safe!_

_-L_

Did she want to write more? Was that too little? Was the exclamation point too much? 

_Ugh!_ Lydia groaned internally and quickly hit send, tucking her phone into her pocket and frowning. 

“Hey, Boss,” came Bull’s low voice from behind. Lydia swiveled around and waved to Bull and Varric. Varric looked pleased as he tucked into his crab fries. Bull on the other hand sat with his lap spilling over with as much as he could apparently carry.

“Hey! Find your seats alright?” Lydia said. “And stocking up for the whole game, I see?”

“Yeah, hard to miss seats like these,” Bull’s eyes flashed. “And no, this is just for the first three innings.”

“Let’s hope the game gives me something to write about for tomorrow’s staff newsletter,” Varric said, thumbing through his phone. “I mean, isn’t this team supposed to be pretty bad?”

“Oh, the Fennec Foxes are awful,” Bull replied with a smirk. “I’m here for the Chargers. Should be a good time.”

“More like a massacre,” Varric chuckled. “Just don’t let Curly overhear.”

Sera reappeared, bouncing down the stadium’s concrete steps while balancing three pretzels in one hand and a plastic baseball hat full of vanilla ice cream in the other. 

Lydia held out her hands as Sera pushed the cup toward her.

“Oh, thank you!” Lydia grinned.

“You seriously going to eat all those pretzels?” Bull said, cocking an eyebrow at Sera. Sera snorted.

“You going to eat all that - woah!” The woman’s eyes bugged as Bull waved his bin of wings, plate of nachos, and jumbo cup of fries at her. 

“Damn right I am!” he roared. 

“Is that all full of soda?” Sera asked, pointing to the hat on Bull’s head.

“Oh, this isn’t soda,” he said with a wink, and Sera cackled gleefully.

“Glad I’m not riding home with you,” Lydia quipped. “With all the crap you’re eating.”

“Can’t say I want to ride home with me either,” Bull laughed. “Varric’s driving.”

“Poor me. What about this for a title, ‘Man gets terribly sick at game,’” Varric mused with a shrug. “Working title, I guess.”

“Excuse me, anyone take this seat?” Lydia looked up. Decked out in full team gear - a maroon and gold jersey, stripes painted down his face, a number one finger on his hand, and a Fennec cap on his head - Cullen leaned over Ms. Trevelyan. He was pointing with his number one finger to the empty seat next to her. Sidling into the row behind them, coming to sit with Bull and Varric, were Leliana, wearing a look that could kill, and a very frazzled Josephine.

“We must have done at least eighty to get here on time,” Josephine was saying. “It is a wonder we didn’t get arrested.”

“Oh hush, Josie. We survived.” Leliana’s eyes still blazed, the speed demon that she was. 

“No!” Lydia replied to Cullen in a voice that was a touch too high. “Seat’s all yours.” 

“Thank you,” Cullen replied, grinning and setting himself down with a long sigh. “Glad to see we haven’t missed anything.”

“Nice pride, Cullen,” Bull poked. “I see you’re goin’ all out?”

“What?” Cullen asked defensively. “I don’t get to see them play often!”

“Curly,” Varric said. “Could you at least lower your Styrofoam finger? It’s hard to see around.”

Cullen muttered angrily under his breath, yanking the finger off his hand as the game began. Music built over the loudspeakers, fans applauding as the home team’s lineup was announced. 

Lydia thumbed through the short magazine she’d picked up at the door, outlining who’d be playing today and going over each player’s statistics. She bounced a foot as she read, trying to make some sense of it.

“Is it helping?” Sera whispered, leaning over to bump shoulders with Lydia. The woman sadly shook her head.

“I understand not a single word.”

“I see somebody you could ask.” Sera waggled her eyebrows and nodded to Cullen who was busy cheering loudly. 

“Think he’d mind enlightening me?” Lydia asked. Sera laughed.

“How the piss should I know? Worth a shot though, yeah?” Sera gave Lydia a small nudge in the ribs, and she went back to watching the game with a satisfied smirk on her face. 

“Hey, Cullen,” Ms. Trevelyan asked when Cullen sat back down, his cheeks flushed. 

“Yes?” he said, a little winded.

“Mind explaining what these numbers mean?” Lydia pointed to the magazine in her lap. Cullen raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You actually want to know what that all means?” he said.

“Well, I’m more interested in how good the line up is today,” she said honestly. A small smile tickled Cullen’s lips. “Tell me, do we have a shot at winning?”

Cullen laughed. “Honestly, probably not.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear as a chant from the crowd rose in the air. “You see the guy on first?”

Lydia nodded.

“He’s our best player, but he tore his shoulder last season and hasn’t been the same since. The rest of today’s line up only goes downhill from there.”

“Ah,” Lydia said with a knowing nod as the Fox’s pitcher tossed the first ball of the game and the crack of the bat hitting the ball echoed around the stadium. The crowd booed. “So, it doesn’t look good.”

“Sadly, no.” Cullen gave a rueful sigh, watching as the center fielder caught the ball. The COO applauded loudly. “And the Chargers won the Series last season.”

“Go Chargers!” cried Bull from behind, stamping his feet rapidly on the ground. Cullen tossed a dirty look over his shoulder.

“Honestly, some people,” Cullen scoffed. “There’s no sophistication, no real loyalty, in supporting a team that wins every other season.”

“Throwing some shade, I see?” Lydia raised her eyebrows and lifted some ice cream to her mouth. 

Cullen grimaced, sinking a little into his seat and nodded to the game. “Only a little,” he said with a half smile.

“Oh!” cried Leliana from behind. Lydia turned her head to Leliana who was pointing to the big screen hanging over the field. 

“Oh they didn’t!” Josephine gasped, pointing too. “Do they usually do this so early in the game?”

“Hey!” Bull said in an amused tone. “Well, that’s a fun twist.”

Lydia turned back around in her seat, looking up at the screen. Her stomach twisted, cheeks turning a deep, deep red. Her shocked and horrified face was plastered next to Cullen’s across the big screen, the television screen zoomed in on them, a digitized heart around their faces.

_Get Your Smooch On! You’re on Kiss-Cam!_ Read the caption below their faces. 

Cullen hadn’t noticed yet, eyes still on the game, that was until Varric nudged him from behind and pointed. Ms. Trevelyan watched the screen as the COO’s ears turned Fennec Fox maroon. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, she at him, then both looked pointedly anywhere else.

“No!” cried Josephine, swooping between Mr. Rutherford and Ms. Trevelyan faster than the fans could start stomping their feet for a smooch. “That’s an HR violation!” 

She was shaking her head, trying to wave away the camera while Lydia tipped her face into her palm, face and neck blazing. The crowd booed. Leliana had a hand over her smile as she laughed, and Bull slid a wink to Lydia. She sank even lower in her chair.

“I mean, I guess it could be an HR thingy or whatever,” Sera said, taking a bite out of her third pretzel. She shrugged.

“Can’t wait to put _this_ into our morning newsletter,” Varric joked. “Any chance somebody got it on camera? Curly turned about five different shades of red, and that’s not counting his war paint.”

The camera finally moved away, off to focus on a young couple who was all too happy to oblige the crowds whoops and cheers. Lydia’s heart raced as she leaned away from Cullen. She could hear Sera snickering. 

It ended up being a very long game. Ms. Trevelyan hoped after the first inning it might go by quickly, the Fennec’s rolling over to the Chargers, but no such luck. The creators seemed determined to let her stew. She thought a few times about getting up, to go to the bathroom or to get a snack, but that meant getting Cullen’s attention. It took her four innings to drum up enough courage to maybe look him in the eye and make a quick escape. 

“Excuse me,” she said to Cullen, pointing over his shoulder to the stairs running up to the concessions above. 

“O-oh?” he said, nearly jumping out of his skin, his cheeks turning a little pink. “Oh yes, of course.” Cullen stood up, holding his Styrofoam finger to his chest and staring hard at the game going on.

Lydia slid by and quickly crept up the stairs, relieved when she rounded a corner and had put a little distance between herself and her colleagues. She shivered, idly thinking that this would be a day she’d look back on and cringe. More ice cream was the only worthy bandage. 

She stepped to the end of the ice cream line, looking around for more lines she could join to delay her inevitable return. Maybe she’d try on a few shirts and spend a while in the bathroom checking the news. Or, oh! Responding to work emails. Yes, she could say she got caught up in some work related emergency and that was why she spent the rest of the game in the bathroom. Lydia closed her eyes, sighing deeply, trying to settle the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Yes, ice cream was the most responsible way to fix a tummy ache.

“Um, excuse me.”

Lydia felt somebody tap her shoulder. She looked over to see Cullen hovering behind her, shuffling his feet and frowning slightly. 

“Do you mind if we talk?” 

“Oh!” Ms. Trevelyan said with a start, not expecting to see him. Her heart clenched, stomach sinking. “Of course.” 

Cullen jerked his head away from the line. They walked a little ways around the stadium, Cullen’s hands fidgeting at his sides. She noted he’d left the “Number One” finger behind, and she knew there was no way he’d be getting it back from the others.

“So, uh,” Cullen paused awkwardly. They came to a stop just beside the ballpark entrance where the crowd was thinnest and they could hear each other better. “I wanted to talk about what just happened.”

“Ah,” Lydia said, crossing her arms over her stomach. “Yes, about that. Probably better to address it before we go back to the office.”

“Right. I’m sorry that happened,” he said, voice high. “It was quite embarrassing.”

“Quite,” Lydia agreed, tucking a lock of hair behind an ear. “But don’t apologize. That wasn’t your fault.”

“I-I mean,” Cullen stammered, rubbing the back of his neck and unable to meet Lydia’s eyes. “On television, it would have looked bad. I wouldn’t want anyone accusing us of…” his voice trailed off.

“Fraternizing,” Ms. Trevelyan finished, quietly looking at her shoes. ”Yes, it would have been a bad look.”

“Josephine was right, it wouldn’t have been prudent, even in jest,” Cullen continued.

“Exactly,” Lydia agreed, heart sinking more and more the deeper they waded. “A bad joke.” 

“Not that kissing you would be a joke at all! Or bad!” He put his hands up in a surrender pose. “I mean, I’m sure you’re a fine kisser, and nobody would joke about that-” he caught himself, clearing his throat. “Is it hot, or is it just me?”

“What?” Lydia said, furrowing her brow. 

“What I mean is, maybe,” he said, chewing his lips. “Well, I’ve been thinking that maybe we could, I don’t know, get coffee sometime. Away from all the cameras and-” his voice trailed away awkwardly.

“Baseball?” Lydia teased a little. Cullen chuckled.

“If you’d like. I was going to say work,” he said, his shoulders slumping a little, the tension and stiffness in his body unwinding. He still couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “So, might that be a yes?” 

Lydia thought, trying to hide her pleased smile behind her hand and feigned to scratch her nose.

“Yeah,” she said. “Alright. You’re on. Text me the place and I’ll tell you what time.”

Cullen’s ears flushed. “It’s, ah, a deal. I have a place in mind.”

“For now,” she said. “Maybe we keep this to ourselves for a bit?”

“That would probably be best,” he said with a relieved laugh. “I should get back to my seat. I’ll text you after the game?”

“Right! Go Fennecs!” Lydia said and then internally cringed. Cullen gave a sly sort of grin and walked away, only looking over his shoulder once as he slunk back to his seat. Lydia leaned her shoulder against the wall, chewing the sides of her cheeks to hide her own sly smile.


End file.
